Three lines on your statement can mean three different things
A current account, cash held by a 3a foundation and securities in custody can all appear under the same logo. Swiss rules treat them differently. FINMA distinguishes deposit protection, creditors’ priority in bankruptcy and the return of securities held in custody. To understand your exposure, start with the paperwork that identifies the foundation, custodian bank and kind of asset involved. The app showing the balance is not necessarily the institution holding it. Ask for the legal names rather than relying on the brand name alone.
Preferred status for cash does not guarantee repayment
FINMA and esisuisse explain that 3a account deposits have separate preferential status in bankruptcy up to CHF 100,000. They are outside the deposit guarantee scheme and do not get the immediate repayment available for certain other deposits. Preferential status improves the ranking of a claim; it does not fix the final amount or date of payment. Ask the foundation how it records cash held for you and which bank actually holds it, particularly if your pension provider uses more than one institution.
Try reading a hypothetical statement
Suppose you have CHF 35,000 in an ordinary private account, CHF 85,000 in cash within 3a and CHF 25,000 in fund units within 3a. Assess the CHF 35,000 with your other ordinary deposits at that bank. The CHF 85,000 falls under the separate rules for 3a cash in this example, which assumes no other holdings relevant to the calculation. The CHF 25,000 is the value of securities. It is not a second cash deposit and should not be added to the cash balance for the same analysis.
The value of securities can still change
Securities held in custody are generally separated from the bankruptcy estate under the applicable rules. Their return does not guarantee the price at which you can sell them. Check what your holdings actually are and ask how any existing cash balance and pending transactions would be treated. A 3a policy held with an insurer falls under a different framework, so the bank-deposit rules alone cannot tell you how that policy would be treated.
What to check before any transfer
Record the legal names, the balances and the share held in securities. If you are considering another provider, ask about costs, whether investments would be transferred or sold and the timetable. Then compare bank counterparty risk, market risk and when you expect to use the assets in retirement. Keep a separate cash reserve outside 3a for bills you cannot delay while a transfer or a repayment is being processed.